Ethanol modifier and its application

Abstract

The present invention teaches an ethanol modifier and a clean ethanol fuel comprising the modifier. The ethanol modifier comprises the following components in stated weight percentages: sugar remover 12-17%; emulsifier 2-5%; antioxidant 2-6%; preservative 2-6%; antiaging agent 3-8%; cleaning agent 1-3%; anti-wearing agent 7-10%; combustion promoter 12-15%; octane enhancing additive 22-28%; and compatibilizer 18-30%. All of the components are commercially-available and readily prepared. The clean ethanol fuel comprising the ethanol modifier of the present invention is better than the national 93 octane gasoline standard, and can satisfy the European IV discharge standard.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS [0001] Pursuant to 35 U.S.C. § 119 and the Paris Convention Treaty, this application claims the benefit of Chinese Patent Application No. 200610112307.6 filed on Aug. 31, 2006, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0002] 1. Field of the Invention [0003] The invention relates to the technical field of fuel modifiers, and more particularly, to an ethanol modifier capable of modifying ethanol into vehicle fuel and applications thereof. [0004] 2. Description of the Related Art [0005] With the growing demand for petroleum and crude oil shortage, the application of ethanol as vehicle fuel is being promoted largely in order to solve the growing energy deficits. Ethanol is a renewable resource, does not generate harmful substances during its combustion, and thus is an environmentally friendly clean fuel. Ethanol can be applied to supplement or replace the limited petroleum resource, and shield the env...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0018] In the clean ethanol fuel, the sugar remover is capable of clearing the carbon deposit generated from the combustion of sugar components contained in the ethanol, and improving the combustion performance of the ethanol. The antioxidant can increase the antioxidation capability and stability of the ethanol. The preservative can reduce the corrosion of ethanol fuel to the metal components such as copper, iron, and aluminum. The antiaging agent can reduce effectively the expansion and aging effect of ethanol fuel to the rubber components so that the hermetic performance of the various components can be ensured. The combustion promoter can enhance efficiently the combustibility of ethanol fuel at low temperature. The anti-wearing agent can not only contribute to the intersolubility of various components, but also improve the oiliness and increase the lubricating ability of the ethanol fuel and reduce the operation noise of the vehicle engine. The octane enhancing additive can increase the octane number of the ethanol fuel and thus avoid detonation, and thereby to ensure the smooth combustion of ethanol fuel and to increase the power force. The compatibilizer is a high carbon ethanol mixture and serves to improve the mutual solubility of various components. The emulsifier is a surface active agent having a good oil solubility and emulsifiability, and thus can eliminate the influence of large size water molecule on the combustibility of ethanol. As the main component of the ethanol clean fuel, the ethanol must have a purity higher than 95% (by weight).

[0019] The ethanol modifier of the present invention can modify ethanol into a clean vehicle fuel, which can satisfy the requirement of the European IV discharge standard. The maximum content of ethanol in one ton of clean ethanol fuel is 840-940 kg. The preparation method of the clean ethanol fuel using the ethanol modifier of the present invention is simple. First, the various components to form the ethanol modifier are mixed uniformly and then are added to the ethanol; secondly, the ethanol and the various components are mixed thoroughly to form clean ethanol fuel.

[0020] Since the various components forming the ethanol modifier are commercially-available chemicals, and the preparation method is simple. The ethanol can be modified into vehicle clean fuel without the addition of gasoline, and the modified ethanol fuel can satisfy the requirement of national 93 octane gasoline standard. The ethanol modifier can be applied widely as the additive for the industrial ethanol and biological ethanol to prepare a vehicle clean fuel.

Problems solved by technology

However, compared with petroleum, ethanol fuel has many drawbacks.

1) Ethanol is a low carbon alcohol, and has good water solubility and a poor lubrication property.

If ethanol is used directly as vehicle fuel, it will result in the increase of friction at the inner wall of the cylinder and thus a rapid increase of temperature.

Dry combustion could occur, and the vehicle engine could be worn out quickly shortening the useful life of the engine.

3) Ethanol has a certain corroding and expanding effect on the plastic and rubber parts of the vehicle.

Acetic acid possibly generated during combustion of ethanol also has a certain corroding effect on the vehicle engine; 4) Ethanol has a higher flash point than gasoline, and is not easily ignited at low temperature.

Although the generation of the harmful substances, such as CO, hydrocarbons, ketone, benzole, can be reduced from the combustion of these fuels, it does not change fundamentally the influence on the environment pollution and the dependence on the petroleum resource, and cannot be applied to replace completely the gasoline as vehicle fuel.

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